Britain’s Kyle Smith has taken top WorldSSP honours on the opening day of practice at Buriram, setting the fastest lap of 1’38.259 to put him just more than a tenth of a second ahead of local hero Decha Kraisart with GRT Yamaha’s Lucas Mahais in third place.
Smith, on the Gemar Lorini Honda, set almost identical laptimes in both sessions, posting a 1’38.567 this morning and dropping it by only a quarter of a second in the afternoon while Kraisart dropped almost half a second despite in the increase in track temperature.
Mahias performed the same feat to just stay ahead of CIA Honda’s Jules Cluzel, who seems to be showing no ill effects of his nerfing at the hands of Frederico Cariacasulo at Phillip Island. The little Frenchman ended the day in fourth place and a little over two-tenths off the pace.
MV Agusta’s PJ Jacobsen ended in fifth place, one ahead of another Thai wildcard Chalermpol Polami with Japan’s Hikari Akubo in seventh, Christian Gamarino in eighth and Kyle Ryde just squeaking into Superpole two by rights in ninth place. Gino Rea, on the Go Eleven Kawasaki, was the last to take a an automatic SP2 slot, which leaves the likes of Cariacasulo, Sheridan Morais and Niki Tuuli to fight it out in SP1.
It wasn’t a great day for the Profile Triumph boys with neither Luke Stapleford or Stefan Hill turning a lap in the second session. They finished session one in 23rd and 24th respectively.
